The present invention relates to electrical connectors and particularly, to a header which temporarily holds pins until the pins are soldered to a printed circuit board at which time the header may be removed from the pins and disposed of. The use of a header as a method of electrically connecting a printed circuit board to a female connector is well known. Terminal pins are perpendicularly inserted into the header for transport and placement of the pins onto a printed circuit board in a desired configuration. The terminal pins may be configured within a header in rows of varying length along the header. The terminal pins are inserted into passages in the header allowing the terminal pins to protrude from the passages a predetermined distance. The header is then used to locate and insert the terminal pins into corresponding holes of a primed circuit board. The pins are then soldered to circuit traces on the printed circuit board or in the holes. The header may then be removed, or slid off of the pins and disposed of. The terminal pins are then free to mate with a female connector.
Such a header device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,696, disclosing the retention of the terminal pins within the header by frictional force between the four walls of the passages of the header and the terminal pins. Also disclosed is a projecting portion of the terminal pin which engages the passages of the header in order to retain the terminal pin within the header. However, such headers that are known in the art do not disclose an external means of providing an interference fit of the terminal pins to ensure uniform pin retention regardless of pin tolerance and plating variations. Nor does the prior art disclose a means for prohibiting the vertical movement of the terminal pins beyond a specific point during shipment or placement on a printed circuit board. Nor is it shown to provide a header having a flat top facilitating the robotic placement and removal of the header.